By EMS1 Staff
ELGIN, Ill. — An off-duty firefighter-paramedic was honored for saving a man’s life.
Chicago Tribune reported that Lt. Wayne Smith, who coaches hockey and plays in an adult league, was asked to fill in as a player. He heard people yelling to “call 911" when he got onto the ice. Dan Isola collapsed on a bench from a heart attack.
Lt. Smith began CPR and asked for the arena’s AED.
“I checked for a pulse. There was no pulse,” Smith said.
Lt. Smith shocked Isola three times before paramedics arrived.
Isola woke up eight days later in the ICU after being in a medication-induced coma.
“I remember driving to the rink and where I parked my car,” Isola said.
Lt. Smith said the incident proves how important AEDs and CPR are for survival rates.